@CaliMex “What is your explanation for the large number of kids with scores in the 99th percentile who are rejected every year while those with scores in the mere high 80s and low 90s are admitted? If scores were more important than the rest of the package (ECs, essays, fit, recommendations, ability to pay, etc), that wouldn’t happen. The 99s would win the day every time.”
You perhaps misinterpreted me or maybe I wasn’t clear. (probably). I was speaking to the OP’s very broad question.
YES: dozens of applicants are admitted with lower scores and grades quite frequently BUT in general they are in some basket that fits the schools’ needs. The OP basically asked if there was a bottom limit for the SSAT score. He/she didnt specify any other relevant factors -unless I missed something. For an applicant who is not in a special basket and is simply a top student then they really must match or exceed the average score. Because that score plus their grades are, in all likelihood, all they will have when applying to colleges 4 years later. So they must have the scores (especially if coming out of PA etc) . If the applicant is a recruited athlete or minority or legacy or musician etc, those factors will trump the need for a top score because that student will have their sport, their skin color or some legacy as a factor 4 years later . At schools like PEA, PA, SPS etc, the accommodation for scores is actually quite generous for certain categories of applicants. So-think about this. If, for example, there are accepted athletes at PEA or PA with have SSAT scores of 80 for example think about what the scores are like at those schools to make that average so high. ( One also has to remember that most student athletes at say PA or PEA are going to want to attend better schools even for their sport. Many of them are admitted on the strength of their AI to boost a college teams GPA. So the scores cannot be but so low or they wont hit a compelling AI-but thats another issue.)